Open AccessAchieving Social Inclusion and Universal Participation: Towards New Conceptions of Higher Education
Author(s) -
Richard James
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
new zealand annual review of education
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1178-3311
pISSN - 1171-3283
DOI - 10.26686/nzaroe.v0i18.1546
Subject(s) - disadvantage , inclusion (mineral) , context (archaeology) , representation (politics) , higher education , politics , political science , universal design , set (abstract data type) , sociology , public relations , pedagogy , economic growth , public administration , social science , geography , economics , archaeology , world wide web , computer science , law , programming language
The 2008 Review of Australian Higher Education established ambitious goals for widening university participation. This article analyses the challenges involved in transforming the Australian higher education system to achieve universal participation, including current patterns of educational disadvantage and the underlying causes for the persistent under-representation in universities of certain groups of Australians. The paper proposes a set of conditions needed for universal participation, and outlines the obstacles to embedding these in national and institutional policy and practice. While the analysis is framed within the present Australian political and social context, the conclusions are likely to be relevant for other national systems making the transition from mass to universal higher education.